24 C.F.R. § 93.200
§ 93.200 Eligible activities: General. (24 CFR Part 93)
Operative Text
(a)(1) HTF funds may be used for the production, preservation, and rehabilitation of affordable rental housing and affordable housing for first-time homebuyers through the acquisition (including assistance to homebuyers), new construction, reconstruction, or rehabilitation of nonluxury housing with suitable amenities, including real property acquisition, site improvements, conversion, demolition, and other expenses, including financing costs, relocation expenses of any displaced persons, families, businesses, or organizations; for operating costs of HTF-assisted rental housing; and for reasonable administrative and planning costs. Not more than one third of each annual grant may be used for operating cost assistance and operating cost assistance reserves. Operating cost assistance and operating cost assistance reserves may be provided only to rental housing acquired, rehabilitated, reconstructed, or newly constructed with HTF funds. Not more than 10 percent of the annual grant shall be used for housing for homeownership. HTF-assisted housing must be permanent housing. The specific eligible costs for these activities are found in §§ 93.201 and 93.202. The activities and costs are eligible only if the housing meets the property standards in § 93.301, as applicable, upon project completion. (2) Acquisition of vacant land or demolition must be undertaken only with respect to a particular housing project intended to provide affordable housing within the time frames established in the definition of “commitment” in § 93.2. (3) HTF funds may be used to purchase and/or rehabilitate a manufactured housing unit, and purchase the land upon which a manufactured housing unit is located. The manufactured housing unit must, at the time of project completion, be connected to permanent utility hook-ups and be located on land that is owned by the manufactured housing unit owner or land for which the manufactured housing owner has a lease for a period at least equal to the applicable period of affordability. (b) Forms of assistance to projects. A grantee may provide HTF funds as equity investments, interest-bearing loans or advances, non-interest-bearing loans or advances, interest subsidies consistent with the purposes of this part, deferred payment loans, grants, or other forms of assistance that HUD determines to be consistent with the purposes of this part. Each grantee has the right to establish the terms of assistance, subject to the requirements of this part. (c) Multi-unit projects. (1) HTF funds may be used to assist in the development of one or more housing units in a multi-unit project. Only the actual HTF eligible development costs of the assisted units may be charged to the HTF program. If the assisted and non-assisted units are not comparable, the actual costs may be determined based on a method of cost allocation. If the assisted and non-assisted units are comparable in terms of size, features, and number of bedrooms, the actual cost of the HTF-assisted units can be determined by prorating the total HTF-eligible development costs of the project so that the proportion of the total development costs charged to the HTF program does not exceed the proportion of the HTF-assisted units in the project. (2) After project completion, the number of units designated as HTF-assisted may be reduced only in accordance with § 93.203, except that in a project consisting of all HTF-assisted units, one unit may be converted to an onsite manager's unit if the grantee determines the conversion is reasonable and that, based on one fewer HTF-assisted unit, the costs charged to the HTF program do not exceed the actual costs of the HTF-assisted units and do not exceed the subsidy limit established pursuant to § 93.300(a). (d) Terminated projects. An HTF-assisted project that is terminated before completion, either voluntarily or otherwise, constitutes an ineligible activity and the grantee must repay any HTF funds invested in the project to its HTF account from which the funds were drawn (i.e., local or Treasury account), in accordance with § 93.403(b). A project that does not meet the requirements for affordable housing must be terminated and the grantee must repay the HTF funds to the grantee's HTF account.
Section 93.200 of 24 CFR Part 93 defines the broad range of activities that Housing Trust Fund (HTF) dollars may lawfully support. Eligible uses include acquiring, constructing, reconstructing, or rehabilitating nonluxury affordable rental housing and first-time homebuyer housing, as well as covering operating costs and reasonable administrative expenses — though operating cost assistance is capped at one-third of an annual grant and homeownership activities are capped at ten percent. HTF assistance may flow to projects in several financial forms, from grants and deferred-payment loans to equity investments, and may support individual units within larger mixed-funding developments. All assisted housing must qualify as permanent housing and meet the property standards referenced in § 93.301 upon project completion.
Plain English — not legal advice.
Property owners and developers working with HTF-assisted projects operate within the activity boundaries set by § 93.200, meaning that only costs directly tied to eligible development activities on assisted units may be charged to the HTF program. In multi-unit projects, operators generally track costs carefully by unit, using either actual-cost accounting or an approved proration method when assisted and non-assisted units are comparable in size and features. Grantees and their development partners also take care to ensure that any acquisition of vacant land or demolition is tied to a specific affordable housing project with a commitment timeline, and that manufactured housing units are connected to permanent utilities and situated on owned or long-term leased land by project completion, as required under § 93.200(a)(3).
General guidance for property managers — not legal advice for your specific situation. Consult an attorney for advice on your case.
For tenants living in or seeking housing in HTF-assisted properties, § 93.200 establishes that the program is designed to produce and preserve affordable, permanent housing — not temporary or transitional arrangements. Because HTF funds must support nonluxury housing with suitable amenities, tenants in these properties can look to this provision as part of the framework ensuring baseline quality and affordability standards apply to their homes. Tenants who have questions about whether a property is meeting HTF program requirements may find it useful to contact their local grantee agency, a HUD field office, or a tenant-rights organization familiar with federal housing programs.
General guidance for tenants — not legal advice for your specific situation. Consult a tenant-rights organization or attorney for advice on your case.
Generated September 3, 2026 — auto-generated, not yet human-reviewed. See /transparency for methodology.
Effective Timeline
References Out
No outbound references recorded yet for this provision.
References In
No inbound references recorded yet for this provision.